Regulator brand bias?

[LeFlaneur]

So now you understand religion.

Here's a sub-poll

1. The reg I dive is da bomb
2. The reg I dive is garbage and I hate myself.

How many #2's did we get?

 

[diveprn]

I'm really curious about brand bias that seems to be pervasive on this board. It seems like the vast majority of the you who post messages on a regular basis have a huge bias towards Apeks and Scubapro regulators. In fact, based on the tone of many of the posts I read, Apeks and Scubapro are touted as *the* only brands -- forget all the others.

Yet if you read various publications, other brands rate just as good (or better) than the Apeks and Scubapro regulators -- Atomic, Oceanic, Aqualung, etc.

Oddly enough, none of the people I dive with use either the Apeks or Scubapro brands of regulators. They are all Atomic fanatics. And the LDS down the street swears by Atomic. The LDS where I was certified swears by Oceanic, so that's what I dive with. Certain DIR posts I have read on other websites say that Scubapro and Oceanic and highly recommended regs.

So what's up? Is this just a "groupthink" phenomenon (or socialogic effect) that the people on this board migrated to Apeks and Scubapro?? And if I find another scuba board (if there is one), will I find a brand bias towards Aqualung and Atomic?? Is this like snow skiing, where you go to one ski village and EVERYBODY swears by Rossignol and then go to another ski village and EVERYBODY swears by Volkl?

Anyway, I'm just curious to see what you guys think...

Thx...Doug
A non-Apeks/Scubapro regulator user

Hi, I bought a Dynamo Sport Hybrid 3X and love it. It is a more expensive reg it the $300-$500 range and you can get it with vent on bottom or to the side. It breathes nice and easy. I also have an older Oceanic Delta that I use as a back up or for my granddaughter when she dives with me.
Most have not heard of it & keep in mind why the dive mags only test certain regs
Regards, Valerie

 

[Asweptwing]

Something no one has discussed is the cost of annuals. I figured I could dive a Scubapro and it would cost no more than anything else. The reason I say this is that it was the only manufacturer which supplied parts for no cost for annual service. Maybe this is a local item only but I was led to believe that this is true no matter where I have it serviced as long as I keep the warranty up (one annual service in twelve months). My annuals cost about $40-45 now instead of the $70 and up I was paying for US Diver, Mares, etc. JMHO.

 

[matt_unique]

Ha ha - the way the poll is written is very leading. The only way any one person could comment would be if they personally tried all the various regulators in question with the same gas, at the same depths, same temperatures, etc., etc., etc. Not to mentioned the tendency to say "my reg is the best".

I can only comment on those I have used personally. The Scuba Pro MK25/G250HP breathes better than the Sherwood Maximus or Sherwood Brut. This is all I have used so any other comment would be speculation or my personal bias.

Before I bought my particular SP reg I read all the test results I could find. Nothing breathed better according to my research than the SP. So without any other data it was a relatively safe purchase decision.

--Matt

 

[crpntr133]

How did this one ever die in the fist place? I think it ranks up there with Whalerkyles.. I want to see a tank explode thread.

Notice that only three people mention Zeagle and they use to make the Apeks regs...correct me if I am wrong since I wasn't diving back then. Also Zeagle isn't any more expensive than Apeks or Subapro, for the most part.

 

[keyshunter]

How did this one ever die in the fist place? I think it ranks up there with Whalerkyles.. I want to see a tank explode thread.

Notice that only three people mention Zeagle and they use to make the Apeks regs...correct me if I am wrong since I wasn't diving back then. Also Zeagle isn't any more expensive than Apeks or Subapro, for the most part.

Exactly backwards. Actually, Apeks made the Zeagle regs until about 2000, I believe. Since then, Zeagle makes their own regs.

 

[BradNC]

It doesn't get much better than a Zeagle Flathead set-up. It's a sweet breather as far as recreational goes. I can't comment on tech, ice and the lot.

 

[flyguy]

I dove with rental gear for the first 2 years and I finally bought my own equipment. I could hardely tell the difference between any of the regulators. But I'm a newbie so what do I know anyhow

I looked the regs that my LDS sold and serviced and did the research to make my decision. It's probably more than I need but knowing that it should suit me for a long time to come.

BTW I have an Atomic B2. I liked the hose swivel so it didn't pull so much and all the reviews were excellent. I'm not a die hard Atomic fan but I would reccomend it if someone asked me.

 

[Moogyboy]

Until this year I've always used Dacor regs because that's what I started on, and that's what my LDS used to use/sell a lot. I don't think I was ever super-partisan to Dacor, though, and especially since being on SB my attitude towards them has soured. I now have a USD reg. I don't make the blanket statement that USD/Aqua Lung is the best reg there is (although it arguably is up there), but I'll gladly talk about my particular specimen if its performance warrants it, and that I managed to get such a bulletproof, time-tested reg setup so cheaply.

If anything, I'm guilty of being biased *against* certain brands because I have an unusually active Hype Detector built into me, not to mention that as an unrepentant prole I'm bothered by the fact that the brands that get hyped and zealously promoted are often the most expensive. Rightly or wrongly I tend to read it as a snobbish status thing. I fully acknowledge that Apeks/Atomic/Zeagle/Poseidon are probably all great regs--but I tend to push back when people proseletyze that these are the BEST and everything else is JUNK and who'd want to be seen in public with anything else clamped onto their tank valve... This has gotten me into occasional trouble on this forum.

It's kinda like how Apple promotes the Mac as the "Porsche of computers" or (here I go again) the cult surrounding Leica cameras. I'm honestly pretty tired of that kind of brand fanaticism, having been there myself. It's pointless in the end, and it closes your mind. Who needs it? Diving's what's important, not what the button on your second stage says.

cheers

Billy S.